Steve Conover: Welcome to The Friends of Israel Today. I'm Steve Conover. With me is our host and teacher, Chris Katulka. We're glad you chose to be with us today. Everything related to today's program and every previous episode can be found at our website, foiradio.org. There you'll find trustworthy and accurate news on Israel and the Middle East. And while you're there, you can support our ministry by clicking on the donate button and helping us continue to teach biblical truth about Israel and the Jewish people. Once again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: Steve, today is our Israel My Glory: In Depth episode where we look at our most recent issue of Israel My Glory, and actually it's all about King Solomon. And so today we're going to have Timothy Rabinek, one of our Friends of Israel representatives from Poland, on to talk about his article, A Taste of Tomorrow: How Solomon's Kingdom Foreshadows the Millennial Reign of Christ. It's going to be a fascinating episode today.

Steve Conover: We'll get to that. But first in the news, The Temple Mount in Jerusalem has become the center of an ongoing legal battle. This between the Jerusalem police and Israeli Jewish activists who wish to blow the shofar at the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount in front of a Muslim cemetery. The legal contest is between Israel's freedom of religious worship and the extent to which security can restrict that right.

Chris Katulka: Well, here's my take. It's only the Jewish people that are being targeted in this lawsuit. In the name of security, police are sacrificing basic Israeli law, kowtowing to the Palestinians out of fear. The police argue that the activists' religious actions could ignite tensions with the Palestinians. Well, I'm sorry, but Israel's laws permit Jewish people to blow the shofar wherever they wish. And these same rights are actually even extended to Muslims and Christians in Israel to fulfill their religious obligations as well. 

Chris Katulka: Everybody, I am so excited to have Timothy Rabinek on, from Poland, people, from Poland, from Warsaw, Poland. He's going to be talking about his most recent issue in Israel My Glory that he wrote called A Taste of Tomorrow. First of all, let me just say this, Timothy is a YouTube star, and I mean that. Timothy's a YouTube star. Timothy, really quick, we don't have much time, but can you tell us about your YouTube channel?

Timothy Rabinek: Okay. Well, I'm running a channel called Israel MyChannel, and praise God, it's growing. And I'm amazed that God is using it. I'm doing some 3D modeling and then using that to teach about history and archeology in Israel.

Chris Katulka: So listen, everybody, you can go to Israel MyChannel on YouTube and follow Timothy's great teaching that he does about Jerusalem, the history of Jerusalem, the temple. And actually to dovetail in here, this is kind of almost what we're going to be talking about today in some way with his article, A Taste of Tomorrow, because you know what Timothy shows us on his YouTube channel is a lot of what Jerusalem looked like during the days of King David, during the days of King Solomon and the reign that they had. And Timothy, I want to start by reading how you opened your article in our most recent issue of Israel My Glory, you wrote this: "On October 25th, 2021, shares of Tesla spiked almost 13% surpassing the $1 trillion market cap and making the electric car company and CEO, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world. But Musk's enormous wealth of almost $275 billion is merely a fraction of the fortune the richest man in the Bible possessed, and that man was King Solomon. Some estimate that today Solomon's wealth would amount to trillions of dollars. He was so rich that he could finance the United States infrastructure bill of $1.2 trillion himself. But Solomon's riches tell only a part of his story. His wealth was a byproduct of the great blessing he received from God. In fact, it's that that makes the magnificent period of his reign, the picture of this future Messianic kingdom.” And I have to ask, Timothy, what was Solomon's great blessing?

Timothy Rabinek: Well, Chris, if we go back to the biblical account, we read that it’s wisdom, and I really like the story actually. Think about it. God promises you that He will give you anything you want. What would you choose? Well, many things come to mind, right? Solomon's choice is not that obvious actually. And in fact, the fact that he chooses wisdom shows that he is already wise. Additionally, it shows that he's humble, and understands his limitations and challenges that are ahead of him. In the book of I Kings chapter 3 verse 9, we read, "So give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, to discern between good and evil." So this shows real humility from Solomon also. And we read that God actually likes this answer, and decides not only to grant Solomon’s wish, but also bless him with riches and honor so that he becomes this legendary king that we know. And the main thing is the wisdom, and all the things that he receives later are a byproduct.

Chris Katulka: So the thing that you talk about in the article that will play out later on in what the Messianic Kingdom that's coming, that Jesus will bring in the future, wisdom plays a role in that. And we'll get to that in a moment. But you also talk about the fact that Solomon did not have an easy road to the throne. It wasn't just handed to him. It was actually something that maybe you could even argue it's something he had to fight for. And there were people fighting on his behalf to make sure that David, his father, passed the kingdom off to him. It wasn't just something that was naturally happening. Do you want to talk about that for a moment?

Timothy Rabinek: Sure. Well, it is true that Solomon had a, you could say, a rough start. As you remember, Solomon was not the only son of David. In fact, he was not even the first born. So from a human perspective and understanding the customs of the time, he was not the first choice to become the new king. And if we go back to the biblical text, we see a real battle for the throne of David. Adonijah, who is his brother, his older brother gathers a coalition of people that try to force Adonijah coronation while David is still alive.

At a certain point, Adonijah even proclaims himself the king of Israel. This of course causes the prophet Nathan and Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, to prompt David to give a quick order to crown Solomon as David's rightful successor. And I love the part when the trumpet is blown, and Adonijah and his followers hear it. It's an amazing moment because instantly they realize it's over. The rich feast in the gardens, in the king's gardens, the deceitful plan that led many away from the truth fell apart. In that moment when they heard the sound of the trumpet, it was over. And this is really a picture of what will happen in the last days in the-

Chris Katulka: It's true. The sounding of the trumpet.

Timothy Rabinek: Yeah. Yeah. And in the gospel of Matthew chapter 24, Jesus warns His disciples that in the last days false prophets will proclaim themselves the Messiah, and lead many astray. But as it was in the days of Solomon, the true heir to the kingdom will reveal himself dramatically. He will reveal himself and it will be over.

Chris Katulka: One of my little favorite things there too, Timothy, is that Solomon was anointed at the Gihon spring in Jerusalem. And it's funny because when David tells Solomon to go down to the Gihon spring to be anointed, he says, "Take my donkey." And you would think he would say, "Take my white horse, take my finest this." But a donkey was actually a sign of kingliness. A donkey didn't mean, "Hey, just take whatever you see first." It was the king's donkey. And it's fascinating because the same thing is told in Zechariah 9:9 that the king would come humbly, but He'd come riding on a mule, on a donkey. And so there's those imagries there of Solomon going down and then Jesus coming down in Matthew 21.

Timothy Rabinek: That's true, that's true. And again, this humbleness comes again.

Chris Katulka: Humility to choose wisdom. Humility to choose wisdom instead of all the riches of the world.

Timothy Rabinek: And then of Jesus riding on the donkey, it's just amazing.

Chris Katulka: It took humility. The same thing is there, you see it early on with Solomon. We only have about a minute left before we have to take a quick break here. But I want to ask you, we're going to move into the components of Solomon's kingdom now from your article. The components of Solomon's kingdom from the Old Testament, how they are a taste of what's coming in the millennial kingdom, how aspects of Solomon's reign will be seen in the future kingdom. But let's start with one really quick, let's start with the judgment. How is that seen? You talk about judgment seen in Solomon's kingdom, and ultimately how it will be seen in the kingdom that Jesus brings in the future.

Timothy Rabinek: Well, one of the first things that Solomon actually does as a new king is punishing the men who lived through the reign of David and got away with many hideous crimes. Adonijah and all his followers and other betrayers were killed. And Abiathar, the priest who supported Adonijah was exiled. And you may think this is a little bit cruel from Solomon to make such a judgment, but it really shows, I think, great symbolism and points to Christ to His return because one of the first things Jesus will do when He returns is punish the unrighteous. We read about this in the gospel of Matthew chapter 25 verse 41. So judgment plays a big part in Jesus' return. And we must remember this. There is still time to repent right now and follow the way of the true Messiah, but the judgment of the wicked will come, and it cannot be stopped.

Chris Katulka: But God provides a way through His Son, the Lord Jesus to have forgiveness.

Timothy Rabinek: Of course, of course.

Chris Katulka: So when that judgment does come, we are on the Lord's side. That is the beauty of what God has done for us. And I think you're exactly right, Timothy, about judgment being a part of wisdom as well, to be able to judge properly. But hey, before we continue on, let me just say, if you want to read Timothy's article and learn more about Solomon's reign, I want to encourage you to go to foiradio.org right now. And if you have never subscribed to Israel My Glory, we want to offer you a one year free subscription to our award-winning Christian magazine that talks all about Israel and the Jewish people from a biblical perspective. 

Trends of what's going on in Christianity as it relates to how we support Israel and the Jewish people. We stand up against antisemitism, and even how we learn these great biblical truths as we're hearing from Timothy right now from Poland, we have excellent writers who are talking about what the scriptures teach about Israel and the Jewish people. If this interests you, and you've never signed up or subscribed to Israel My Glory before, you can get a one year free subscription by going to foiradio.org. And in fact, we want to offer you two options. Number one, you can either choose to get the print version that will be mailed to your house every other month. You can sign up for the print version, maybe you'd like to hold something in your hands, but I also want to encourage you to check out our digital Israel My Glory. That means everything that you can read will be online by going to israelmyglory.org.

And not only can you read the most recent issues of Israel My Glory, you can go back more than 40 years and receive great biblical teaching throughout all of those decades of our writers writing about what was going on in Israel, God's Prophetic truth, all of it. And the best part is you can research it. If you want to learn about what's going on in Israel, you can type it in right in the search bar. And all of this information from 40 years will pop up thanks to the great resources that we have at Israel My Glory. So again, if you've never subscribed, go right now to foiradio.org, and you can get a one year free subscription, and you can even read Timothy's article, A Taste of Tomorrow. Again, that's foiradio.org. 

Chris Katulka: Timothy, we're talking about the various aspects of Solomon's kingdom from the Old Testament as a type of what's to come in the kingdom Jesus will bring in the future. And we just looked at judgment. Now let's take a look at wisdom. Talk about wisdom, Timothy.

Timothy Rabinek: Well, as we discussed before, wisdom from God gave Solomon everything a human may really desire. Other kings made journeys to Jerusalem just to experience the splendor of his kingdom that he established. And in this way, Solomon certainly is the picture of Jesus Christ. As we remember, even as a young boy, Jesus was astonishing the wise, the elders at the temple. We remember the story when He departed from his parents and later on they fight Him in the temple and see Him discussing the Torah with the wisest people in Israel. Later on, when Jesus began His earthly ministry, people came to Jesus with questions as they did in the times of Solomon.

And every time we seek great wisdom and Jesus' answers. Sometimes people even wanted to trick Jesus, asking difficult questions, but in the end they become full of themselves. And finally, when Jesus will return to establish His millennial kingdom and sit on the throne of David, people will also pilgrimage to Jerusalem just to be amazed by His wisdom. In Isaiah, I give this chapter nine verse seven, we read there that, "Jesus will sit upon the throne of David and over His kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever." Solomon was wise, but the source of his wisdom was Jesus Christ.

Chris Katulka: Amen. Solomon actually wrote a psalm, Psalm 72, and you can just hear the wisdom when he says this in Psalm 72 verse one, "Give the king your justice, oh God, and your righteousness to the royal Son, may He judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice." And he goes on about making sure that his rule and reign isn't one marked by corruption or sin, but one that's led with, it seems, wisdom. Wisdom to be able to judge properly, wisdom to be able to lead with righteousness. And this is actually a Messianic psalm, one that would point to Jesus because it  later on says, "May your king," Solomon's writing this, "May your king rule from sea to sea." The entire world, it says in Psalm 72.

Timothy Rabinek: Yeah.

Chris Katulka: And so there's that image again that one of Solomon's sons who we know is Jesus, He comes from Solomon, He comes from the... Jesus, comes from the line of David and Solomon would one day rule from sea to sea, and rule with justice and righteousness and wisdom as you're talking about here. Now listen, I know that many of our listeners will gravitate toward this one because this particular aspect that we're going to talk about of Solomon's reign and ultimately how it gets fulfilled in Jesus's future kingdom is one that even you're closely connected to, and that's peace. And right now I know everybody longs for peace. If anybody's longing for peace, Timothy, it's you. You're in Poland, you're right on the border of Ukraine, and there's a war going on in Ukraine and you're helping those Jewish people right now who are fleeing from Putin's war against Ukraine. But you say that Solomon was a man of peace and rest. How is that a picture of the coming kingdom?

Timothy Rabinek: Well, Chris, Poland has a border not only with Ukraine, but also with Russia. There is a tiny piece of land that Russia has that is separated from the rest of Russia, and it borders with Poland. So here in Poland we really feel the atmosphere of war, the disaster and the pain of what war brings. And this is just to give one statistic. Since the beginning of the conflict, Poland has taken in 6.7 million refugees from Ukraine. As part of my ministry with the Friends of Israel, I picked up many Jewish people from the bus stations, the train stations in Warsaw as they were escaping this conflict.

It was really heartbreaking to me to see, especially mostly mothers, their children, leaving their husbands in Ukraine as they were not allowed to leave the country. So war definitely is a terrible thing, but fortunately thanks to God we have a wonderful promise, and that's why we await this glorious Messianic age where finally humanity will experience true peace. Solomon was just a taste of that as his wise rule enabled him to win territories without the sword. His father was winning territories with the sword. He was so wise that he was even able to expand the kingdom without battles. It was probably the most peaceful time in Israel's history. But this is just a sample of what is coming when Jesus returns.

Chris Katulka: Jesus brings the ultimate peace that it actually even says later on at the end of the book of Revelation that, "Every tear will be wiped away. There will be no more mourning." Sin is unraveled because of what Jesus does, bringing not only peace to the world, but peace between everyone. An internal peace that only He can provide. Timothy, one last thing here, and we only have a few seconds left. Why don't you share with us that one final component that is very important to the kingdom that Solomon had and in connection with the future kingdom to come with Jesus? There's one final component there that I want you to share about.

Timothy Rabinek: So it is the temple, the Millennial Temple. And if you think about it, both temples, the Solomon Temple and the Millennial Temple are very unique because they have the presence of God within them. This will be something spectacular when the presence of God will once again live among people. Israel, in the days of Solomon, was able to experience the presence of God in Jerusalem. So the times of Solomon were both a picture of what was in the beginning when God was walking with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. And it is also a picture of the Millennial Kingdom. But God's presence will once again be visible in Jerusalem.

Chris Katulka: That is fantastic. I love that picture too. The idea that God's presence was with His people in the Garden of Eden. And again, at the end of the Book of Revelation, John sees a new Jerusalem coming out of heaven, God's presence coming down to once again dwell with His people. And the imagery is all temple imagery there as well, that there will be a temple, as you were talking about. A millennial temple, but also God's presence coming down into that temple to dwell with His people. Timothy, I can't thank you enough for being with us and talking about your most recent article in Israel My Glory called A Taste of Tomorrow.

Hey, listen, everyone, I want to encourage you not only go to foiradio.org to subscribe for Israel My Glory, if you've not done that before. But I also want to encourage you to go to youtube.com and while you're there, search up Israel MyChannel, and that is Timothy Rabinek's channel, which will teach you some great history about what was going on in the time of Solomon, in the time of David in Jerusalem. Give you a picture of what it looked like, and also what it means for us today as followers of the Lord Jesus when we see what's going on in Jerusalem. Again, that's Israel MyChannel on YouTube. Timothy, thank you so much for being with us, brother. We really appreciate it.

Timothy Rabinek: Thank you, Chris, it was a pleasure to be with you.

Steve Conover: We're so glad you chose to be with us today. And a special thanks to Timothy Rabinek for being our guest. Next week we're back in the Word. What will you be teaching on next week, Chris?

Chris Katulka: Yes, Steve. Actually something that you brought to the table at one of our planning meetings, talking about the fact that even the demons called Jesus the “holy one of God.” It's only used twice in the New Testament. And so we're going to be looking at Mark and Luke, and how the demons called Jesus the “holy one of God.” It's going to be a fascinating two-part series.

Steve Conover: I look forward to it. Our host and teacher is Chris Katulka. Today's program was produced by Tom Gallione. Our theme music was composed and performed by Jeremy Strong. Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold. And I'm Steve Conover, executive producer. Our mailing address is FOI Radio, PO Box 914 Bellmawr, New Jersey, 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio, PO Box 914 Bellmawr, New Jersey, 08099. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. We are a worldwide evangelical ministry proclaiming biblical truth about Israel and the Messiah while bringing physical and spiritual comfort to the Jewish people.